The latest attempt to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in California cleared a Senate committee on Thursday but with provisions that restrict how the licenses can be used and what they would look like.

The bill, by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would bring California into compliance with federal law. The REAL ID Act, signed by President Bush last week, requires states to verify that people who apply for a driver's license are in the country legally.

It also allows states to choose whether to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants as long as they have different markings  such as color or design  than a regular license. They also must clearly state that the license cannot be used as an official identification card.

Legal or illegal - a state can license who drives their roads. So long as it doesn't turn into yet another 'gateway' document like those stupid Matcilar cards and the other crud that they've pulled over the years, I don't care one way or another.

That being said, ten minutes after this law is fully in effect, the items that make it different from a regular license will be removed as it might allow someone to discriminate against a criminal illegally in the country.

That being said, ten minutes after this law is fully in effect, the items that make it different from a regular license will be removed as it might allow someone to discriminate against a criminal illegally in the country.

then it would no longer be in compliance with the REAL ID rules which is one of the reasons these rules are being inacted. But I sort of agree with you in that the leftist legislature will take it to the limit if they can.

7
posted on 05/19/2005 6:09:10 PM PDT
by AgThorn
(Bush is my president, but he needs to protect our borders. FIRST, before any talk of "Amnesty.")

Gil Cedillo is a one trick pony. He gets a meaningless certificate. And the Democrats are still out of touch with California voters. They've forgotten it smoked Gray Davis two years ago. Hey, who cares? We mustn't be mean to illegal aliens.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

16
posted on 05/19/2005 6:31:40 PM PDT
by goldstategop
(In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)

ditto that!. It should also be bar coded ILLEGAL, Problem is that still does not solve the number of illegals already having licenses. (2) test should only be given in ENGLISH. How in the $**&# are they going to understand the rules of the road and verbal commands if they don't speak english. I was with my son getting his license and the ILLEGAL in front, had taken her test in spanish... couldn't get her to understand to stand behind the line for photo and had a hard time fingerprinting. Same with Eye test, others had to wait until a spanish speaking clerk came so she could take eye test. And these people 99.5% of the time never get insurance (pay for 30day and cancel. That Cedillo is a _________

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said it would be premature for the administration to take a position on Cedillo's bill because the federal government is still determining how the new law will be applied.

SACRAMENTO  The latest attempt to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants in California cleared a Senate committee on Thursday but with provisions that restrict how the licenses can be used and what they would look like.

The bill, by Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, would bring California into compliance with federal law. The REAL ID Act, signed by President Bush last week, requires states to verify that people who apply for a driver's license are in the country legally.

It also allows states to choose whether to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants as long as they have different markings  such as color or design  than a regular license. They also must clearly state that the license cannot be used as an official identification card.

Cedillo was the author of a bill signed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2003 to allow driver's licenses for nearly 2 million illegal immigrants. The law became a flash point in the campaign to recall Davis from office. Shortly after he was elected, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger persuaded the Legislature to repeal it.

Schwarzenegger said he would work with Cedillo to create a license that didn't compromise security and carried a distinctive mark. Last year, he vetoed Cedillo's attempt to create such a license, saying it didn't provide adequate security protections.

Cedillo said he expects the governor "to be a man of his word" and support his latest attempt.

He said he wasn't happy with the federal act because it offered a "two-tier" licensing structure that he has opposed in the past. But he urged his colleagues on the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee to pass the bill because California licenses will not be valid for identification at airports or federal buildings if the state doesn't conform its driver's licenses to the federal law.

"It's not an insurance issue," he said. "It's an illegal immigration issue."

The federal act permits states to offer a "driving only" type license to illegal immigrants, he said, but California isn't required to do so.

He also questioned the need to pass legislation adopting the federal language that won't take effect until January 2009, the deadline for the federal regulations to be drafted and adopted.

Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said it would be premature for the administration to take a position on Cedillo's bill because the federal government is still determining how the new law will be applied.

California, where immigrants make up a large part of the working class labor pool, has banned licensing illegal immigrant adult drivers for the past decade. A Field Poll released in March found that nearly two-thirds of California residents opposed the idea of extending driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Even some of the lawmakers who voted for the bill expressed doubts about the need to adopt the federal language so quickly. Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, said he was voting in favor of the bill but with "grave reservations" because officials with the California Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles hadn't weighed in on how the new licenses would be implemented.

The committee approved the bill 8-5, sending it to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

How can the illegals understand the road signs if they can't even speak English? I'm sick to death of all the forms that I have to fill out that are in English and Spanish side. I better not start seeing road signs in both languages!

23
posted on 05/19/2005 8:24:16 PM PDT
by Serenissima Venezia
(Hoping to be a California Vigil Antie for the Minuteman Project)

Same problem in California, according to a policeman friend. Hit and run accidents by hispanics, most likely illegal aliens, are a huge problem here. Most Mexican Americans follow the laws, the illegals don't.

Illinois comes in at #4 of states over run by illegals. Chicago is a Sanctuary City! You cannot ask illegals if they are illegal. Illinois hires illegals. Our jobs are over run with them. It is time to target the emmployers!

Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.